The Market Report

Roxie's Market Opened:  1960s here; 1957 previously Owner:  Alan and Edward Rubin Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  479 Southern Artery, Quincy, MA Photographed:  August 4, 2019 There's nothing like a beloved independent grocer going strong for decades despite a big-chain supermarket right across the street. That's what's happening here at Southern Artery and McGrath Highway in Quincy, where a 72,000 square foot Stop & Shop competes with a tiny butcher shop and grocer of about a tenth of that size. Actually, Roxie's and Stop & Shop have been here for about the same amount of time, with Stop & Shop having been constructed in the 1950s and Roxie's here since 1960. In a 2015 article, the local paper credits the store's popularity to its personal service and low prices, which one of the owners says is possible because of their volume. The small, old-school store's main draw is its butcher, but there's also a deli and som...

Stop & Shop Opened:  ca. 1950s; expanded ca. 1990s Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  495 Southern Artery, Quincy, MA Photographed:  August 4, 2019 Welcome to Stop & Shop's hometown! The chain originated in Somerville, just to the north of Boston, and has long been associated with the Boston area. Today, the headquarters for the chain -- owned by Dutch supermarket conglomerate Ahold Delhaize -- are in downtown Quincy... ...and about half a mile east is this Stop & Shop on Southern Artery. Although it dates back to the 1950s, it was renovated and expanded to its present 72,000 square feet in the 1990s. There are a handful of relics around the property, although the store itself is unremarkable, including this retro enter sign and the tall, multi-legged Stop & Shop sign you can see in front of the store. But despite the fact that the store isn't particularly special, it's very obviously been kept up...

 Mignosa's Fruit Basket Opened:  1903 previously; unknown in this location Owner:  Bill Mignosa Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  148 Granite St, Quincy, MA Photographed:  August 4, 2019 and May 6, 2023 In the same strip mall as the Star Market in Quincy Center is Mignosa's Fruit Basket, a small greengrocer and deli of about 6800 square feet. The store dates back to 1903, but has been located here only since about the 1960s, as far as I can tell. It's not really a full grocery store, but there's several aisles of produce, prepared foods, baked goods, and bulk items. There's also a deli and a salad bar. The interior pictures here are from both 2019 and 2023, but nothing really changed in the store during that time. In the front, there's a large bulk department with candy and nuts in big bins. Obviously, this store and Star Market can coexist -- they have for decades -- because Mignosa's is much more specialized and carries things...

Star Market Opened: unknown; expanded 1994-95 Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  130 Granite St, Quincy, MA Photographed:  August 4, 2019 and May 6, 2023 Welcome to the very first Star Market here on The Market Report! Star Market is one of those chains with a little bit of a difficult history to summarize. So I'd highly recommend taking a look at this Wikipedia article , which clearly describes the many sales and acquisitions. Basically, the store started with one location in Watertown, MA, to the northwest of Boston, then grew to a chain eventually acquired by Jewel, the Chicago supermarket chain. And American Stores -- ACME -- acquired Jewel, thus also acquiring Star Market. Then American Stores sold Star Market to an investment firm, which in turn sold the chain to Sainsbury's, the British supermarket chain that also owned Shaw's, in 1999. Albertsons bought Sainsbury's American holdings in 2004, then Superv...